Jaipur: Ajit Chandila claimed four wickets, including the first hat-trick of the season, in a sensational spin-bowling spell as Rajasthan Royals crushed Pune Warriors by 45 runs in a lop-sided Indian Premier League match here Sunday.
Little-known Chandila claimed his four wickets for just 13 runs from four overs as he single-handedly demolished Pune, who were already out of play-offs contention. The Sri Lankan off-spinner needed just 17 balls to grab his four wickets.
Chandila, who was playing in only his second match of the IPL, was though not getting prodigious turn from the Sawai Man Singh Stadium pitch and the batsmen were also partly to be blamed for their poor shots.
With the win today, Rajasthan remained in contention for a play-offs spot with 14 points from 14 matches. Set to score a challenging 171 for a win, the match was as good as over for Pune by the fifth over when they were down four wickets for just 26 with their top-four failing to reach double digit. Captain Sourav Ganguly, who was embroiled in a controversy over his place in the team, scored two while Jesse Ryder, Robin Uthappa and Anustup Majumdar made one, six and nine respectively. Steven Smith top-scored with 37 while Callum Fergusson and Angelo Mathews made identical 23. Smith and Mathews shared 39 runs from four overs for the sixth wicket to give a semblance of a fight before the former was out in the 15th over.
Other than Chandila, Watson and Johan Botha bagged two wickets each. (PTI)